I Will Remember You
by q1120790
Summary: BTVS IWRY episode.One-shot. Mainly what was going through Angel's head in the last five minutes of the eppie. Sad- those who like shipper pairings-this is for us.


**DISCLAIMER: I declare that the below characters and scenario are not mine. They belong to the evil mastermind Joss Whedon. I was simply brainstorming and thought I'd write from the characters perspective. The piece itself is a brainchild of mine, however, as is the extra bits...**

* * *

"How long do we have?" came the hesitant question.

"...Til 9:00...one more minute".

"...A _minute_..._Oh God_," she gasped, tears falling down her cheeks. "It's not enough time," she sobbed.

"Ssssh, it's okay," he too, had tears welling up in his eyes. "It's okay," he choked as he hugged her close.

"It's not enough time...Oh God," she whispered tearfully into his ear. "I'll never forget, I'll never forget, I'll never forget... _I'll never forget..._"

The couple shared one last passionate kiss as the room lit up, and her promises faded away into nothingness...

Awkward silence thickened the air in the room, and the tension of the two lone figures was palpable.

She was the first to speak.

"...So, we'll keep our distance until our time has passed," her hands were constantly fidgeting, as she stood in the doorway of his office.

He blinked, disorientated, unsure. He stared at her, not really seeing, trying to remember...and then, flashes of white-hot light flooded past his mind's eye- a hyper speed slide show.

..._Fighting the demon that had sprung upon them..._

..._Their blood mixing, his heart beating again, pushing the borrowed blood around his now human limbs now returning from the dead, as he had done, many years ago..._

..._Buffy...they had made love, and for the first time, he had kept his soul..._

..._Higher powers heralding a warning to the couple-seek love at the cost of The Slayer's life...Buffy's life...the ache of realization..._

..._Plea to make him-what he was again. Become neither living or dead, living off the blood of others...of hers..._

His brow crinkled, heart lurching at her last words to him. I'll never...

"Given enough time," she went on "we should be able to..."

"_Forget_," he whispered, surprising himself by thinking aloud.

She paused, and for the first time since she walked into his office, looked directly at him. "Yeah," she smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

They stood; eyes locked in silent battle. She broke off the gaze, and stared down at the floor.

"So...I'm gonna go...start forgetting!" Having said her peace, she turned and in two purposeful strides, was at the door. She was unprepared for the demon that suddenly crashed through the window of the private office.

Angel, on the other hand, was playing this scene out in his head, and after quickly scooping up a heavy book from his desk, walked swiftly to the warrior demon.

It was over in ten seconds.

He smoothly ducked the first inevitable swing of its sword, and straightened, slamming the book into the jewel in the centre of its forehead. He stood back and shielded his eyes as the demon cracked and disintegrated, exploding with the blinding beams of a miniature supernova.

After watching the air clear of snowflakes of skin, he turned back to a dumbstruck Buffy, frozen in fighting stance, her eyes wide. "Wow," she breathed, when she found her voice again. "That was unreal..." She paused, eyes glinting with curiosity.

"Ahhhh, how did you know how to kill it?" On baited breath, she awaited his reply.

" It's a Mohra demon," Angel answered automatically. He hesitated, at a loss to explain. Then remembering the book in his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief, holding it up as he finished.

"I've...eerrr...had a lot of time to catch up on my reading."

She relaxed, satisfied, and retrieved her jacket from the floor. Without looking at him, she slung it over her shoulder and said curtly, "Well, I guess that's it then. That's all there is to say," and stalked out the open door.

Angel stood unmoving, staring at her retreating back, then at the clock, which had fallen on the floor in the excitement. He thought back to when he pleaded with the Powers to make him human.

Their reply was to turn back the day, leaving only him with memory of the last 24 hours...to change fate, and choose an immortal life...

He picked up the clock with a sinking heart, knowing that Buffy would never know of what they had shared...

"Yes," he whispered sadly, staring at the clock's cracked surface, its hands frozen at nine o'clock.

"That's it..."

Page 4 of 4


End file.
